The Russia Raiders pride themselves on defense. Raiders Nation was beaming in the third quarter when Russia went on a 20-6 run in the third quarter to pull away from Botkins and advance to their first D-IV district final since 2018.  Greg Billing writes tournament basketball.

Jackson Center scored the first 22 points to knock off Fairlawn. Fort Loramie needed free throws down the stretch to hold off Ansonia. Now the Tigers and Redskins meet for a third time this season, this one in the D-IV sectional final at Piqua High School on Saturday. Greg Billing writes tournament basketball.

A tough regular-season schedule continues to help the Anna Rockets during the postseason. Fifth-seeded Anna drew from that experience to knock off No. 1 Bethel in a back-and-forth battle on Saturday night, 33-29.

A near quarter-century as head coach, and almost three decades on the Jackson Center sideline in some capacity, culminated for Scott Elchert on Saturday night with a lopsided win over Riverside and great appreciation for a community that he holds dear.